Battle of Valcour Island
The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on 11 October 1776, on
Lake Champlain in a narrow strait between the
New York mainland and Valcour Island during the
American Revolutionary War. It is generally regarded as the first
naval battle fought by the
United States Navy. Although the American ships under the command of
Benedict Arnold were mostly destroyed, the campaign delayed by one year the
British attempt to
cut the colonies in half and eventually led to the British military disaster at
Saratoga in 1777.
Encyclopedia
The naval
Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the
Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on 11 October 1776, on
Lake Champlain in a narrow strait between the
New York mainland and Valcour Island during the
American Revolutionary War. It is generally regarded as the first
naval battle fought by the
United States Navy. Although the American ships under the command of
Benedict Arnold were mostly destroyed, the campaign delayed by one year the
British attempt to
cut the colonies in half and eventually led to the British military disaster at
Saratoga in 1777.
Strategic importance of Lake Champlain
Following the failed American invasion of Canada, the British launched a counteroffensive intended to gain control of the
Hudson River Valley, which extends southward from Lake Champlain. Control of the upper Hudson would have enabled the British to link their Canadian forces with those in British-occupied
New York City, dividing the American colonies of New England from those in the South and Mid-Atlantic and potentially quashing the revolution.
Access to the river's source was protected by American strongholds at Crown Point and
Fort Ticonderoga, and elimination of these defenses would require the transportation of troops and supplies from the British-controlled
St. Lawrence Valley 90 miles to the north. Roads were either impassable or nonexistent, making water transport over Lake Champlain the only viable option, but the only ships on the lake were in American hands. Even though they were lightly armed, they would have made transport of troops and stores impossible for the British. The two sides therefore set about building fleets; the British at
St Johns in
Quebec and the Americans at the other end of the lake in Skenesborough. The British had adequate supplies, skilled workmen, and prefabricated ships transported from England, including a 180-ton warship they disassembled and rebuilt on the lake. All told, the British fleet had roughly twice as many ships and twice the firepower of the Americans' 16 vessels.
Forces assembled
Benedict Arnold's flagship was initially the
Royal Savage, a two-masted
schooner, but he transferred to the
Congress, a row galley. Arnold's fleet included
Revenge and
Liberty, also two-masted schooners, as well as the
Enterprise, a
sloop, and 8
gondolas:
New Haven,
Providence,
Boston,
Spitfire,
Philadelphia,
Connecticut,
Jersey,
New York, and the
galley Trumbull.
Facing them were the ships of the
Royal Navy constructed in
Quebec: The flagship
Inflexible, reassembled from pieces and measuring 80 feet long; the
schooners
Maria,
Carleton,
Royal Convert, the two-masted
ketch Thunderer, as well as over 20 single-masted gunboats armed with a single cannon.
Battle
Arnold came from a seafaring
Connecticut family. He shrewdly chose to force the British to attack his inferior forces in a narrow, rocky body of water between the coast and Valcour Island, where the British fleet would have difficulty bringing its superior firepower to bear—and where the inferior seamanship of his unskilled sailors would have a minimal effect.
The British fleet took up positions at noon around 300 yards in front of the American battle line with the small gunboats forward, and the five main ships around 50-100 yards behind the gunboats. The British then opened up a huge broadside against the American ships which continued for the next five hours. During the exchange of cannon fire,
Revenge was heavily hit.
Philadelphia was also heavily hit and sank later at around 6:30 p.m.
Royal Savage ran aground and was set on fire by the crew to prevent the ship from falling in British hands.
Congress and
Washington were heavily damaged, and
Jersey and
New York were also badly hit. On the British side, casualties began mounting too. HMS
Carlton was heavily hit as it tried to land a boarding party on the grounded
Royal Savage and was forced to withdraw under heavy fire. One small gunboat, commanded by Lieutenant Dufais, blew up and sank from a direct hit. Most of the other small gunboats were also hit, forcing them to withdraw and reform their battle line 700 yards from the American line. Two of the gunboats were so heavily damaged that they were forced to be scuttled after the action.
Nonetheless, the battle was not going well for the Americans when the sun set on 11 October. Most of the American ships were damaged or sinking, and the crews reported around 60 casualties. The British reported around 40 casualties on their ships. Aware that he could not defeat the British fleet, Arnold decided to withdraw. Arnold managed to sneak his fleet past the British fleet during the night and attempted to run for the cover of the shore batteries situated at the American-held fort at Crown Point at the south end of the lake. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and the Americans were caught short of their goal. As the British pursued, Colonel
Guy Carleton mistakenly fired upon a small rocky island, thinking it was an American ship. The small island was later named
Carleton's prize.
Aftermath
After sailing only eight miles on 12 October, Arnold drove
Providence ashore in the shallow water of Buttonmold Bay off Schuyler Island where the heavier British ships could not follow. The ship was then stripped of guns, powder and everything else of use.
New Jersey also ran aground while the crew from the
Lee did likewise. On 13 October, the British fleet finally caught up to the American fleet off Split Rock where
Washington was captured and the
Congress sank attempting to flee. Arnold led about 200 men from the lost ships on foot to Crown Point where the remaining ships—'Trumbull
, Enterprise
, Revenge
, New York
, and Liberty—finally reached safety. Arnold was forced to burn his remaining ships and withdrew further towards Ticonderoga. American losses were listed as over 80 killed with 120 captured, many of them wounded. Aside from the 40 reported dead and wounded, there appeared to be no British casualties in the two days after the 11 October engagement.
Although the British had cleared the lake of American ships, establishing naval control, snow was already falling as Arnold and his men reached Ticonderoga on 20 October. The British commander Carleton had no choice but to defer the attacks on Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga; he withdrew to a winter camp in Canada by early November. The next year in 1777, a better-prepared American army would eventually stop the British advance at Saratoga and bring France into the war on the American side.
References
- Gardner W. Allen, A Naval History of the American Revolution , chap. 6
- William M. Fowler, Jr., Rebels Under Sail: The American navy during the Revolution , chap. 10
- Brendan Morrissey, Quebec 1775, The American invasion of Canada p. 73-86
External links
